Hello. I have always been led to believe he was a smart man as his grandchild who was my grandmother always said that.
Jerry Pearce as he called himself was a gunsmith later on in Lonoke County between 1870-1900. He was supposedly a whiz at that sort of thing.
His widow Molly later drew a pension from his military service. That is where the information that his brother from Tennessee had provided regarding Jerry Pearce being wounded through and through at Shiloh. After his recovery at his dad's home, he sat out walking from Mifflin, Tenn. to catch up with what was left of the 8th on the 4th of July.
J. D. Pearce's family tree has been traced back to Rhode Island and then into Europe. He even had ancestors on the Mayflower. His great grandson worked on the space shuttle project and his gg grandchild, Linda, taught school for 39 years.
Just think of all that would have been lost if he had not survived Shiloh.
I am sure there are many other stories just like this floating around if people only took time to verify them.
Thanks-
Linda